How are you responding to the U.S. governments’ efforts to limit refugee resettlement?

A:

Interfaith Refugee Project is not a political organization, and we seek to work with people across the political spectrum to protect refugees. However, we believe that President Trump’s Executive Order on travel and refugees puts refugees at great risk and sets a poor example for the rest of the world. Two of the organizations we support, HIAS and IRAP, joined together to bring a lawsuit against the Executive Order, challenging it as unconstitutional. The fourth circuit court of appeals ruled in their favor, affirming the suspension of the Executive Order because it “drips with religious intolerance, animus and discrimination.” This case will now be heard in the Supreme Court.

In the chaotic days following the signing of the Executive Order, IRAP mobilized thousands of lawyers to flood U.S. airports to defend the rights of refugees and immigrants. IRAP also brought the first lawsuit filed in response to the Executive Order and prompted a federal judge in New York to grant a nationwide stay of removal, preventing the unlawful detention and deportation of refugees and others who had valid documents to enter the United States. The lawsuit was filed on behalf of two Iraqi IRAP clients who had been unjustly detained at the airport and threatened with deportation.

Both HIAS and IRAP are working tirelessly to advocate for congressional efforts to oppose the limits on refugee resettlement and to educate the public on the negative impact of any refugee resettlement reduction for vulnerable groups. We encourage our supporters to join their efforts. You can sign up to receive action alerts from IRAP, which will let you know when you can make your voice heard to impact U.S. policy. Please visit https://refugeerights.org/policy-action-alerts/ to subscribe to these alerts.

As governments across the globe enact policies to shut their doors to refugees, it is more critical than ever that we continue to support humanitarian organizations like Islamic Relief and World Vision, who are providing the critical emergency response and humanitarian assistance to all those who are currently living between home and safety with no place to go.